So with the preseason coming to a close and rosters being trimmed down to 53 we are starting to have a better feel for who may be of value. So with this piece I want to talk a little strategy at first because after drafting a few teams earlier in the preseason I’ve come to find out that with FFE it might be wise to wait until preseason is over. Why? Because if you drafted earlier in August (like me) you lost guys like Julian Edelman, Spencer Ware, and Cameron Meredith. You may have also taken Andrew Luck under the assumption he’d be ready in time for the start of camp and you may be without him for the first couple weeks. But the good thing about drafting early is that it gives you a feel for how drafts are going. QB’s fly off the board with FFE and great positional players can be found later in the draft.
So let’s briefly hit on some strategy to talk. I mentioned in my last piece that out of the 11-hole I’d go QB-QB with my first two picks and I certainly did that. I’ll name the players shortly, but by going QB heavy early still allowed me to get some great talent with my later picks. Of all the FFE teams I’ve drafted so far, this is the one I’m feeling best about. But I also maintained the “GPP” strategy assuming that players may get hurt so I wanted to own some key players that may have value later in the season. So I was able to get my hands on some solid back up’s at the end of the draft and guys that could burst on the scene later in the season that nobody might be targeting. At the end of the day this “GPP” theory could blow up on me, but remember there are no waiver claims with FFE. So get the best players you can and like I said before, go QB heavy early to start. Realistically you can start three QB’s per week so it’s not a terrible idea. On to the greatest team ever assembled!
Quarterbacks
Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, Sam Bradford
So like I mentioned earlier I went QB-QB with my first two picks. Yes I picked 11th overall and my first QB taken was Kirk Cousins and then Matt Ryan with the 14th pick. That alone should tell you how fast QB’s go off the board. I thought about taking Le’Veon Bell at 14 (yes he was still there) because I knew he wouldn’t come back to me after a long wait in round 3. But I wanted to stay committed to this QB heavy strategy and see how this lineup shaped up. And I’m VERY pleased with how the team came together. The only downside to Cousins and Ryan is that they have the same Bye week. So in week five my only QB will be Sam Bradford. That’s not exactly comforting, but I’m loaded at other spots. I’m okay potentially losing in week five. Remember you just need to go 5-3 in the first eight weeks to move on to Stage 2. And I certainly think I can do that with this group.
Running Backs
Mark Ingram, Mike Gillislee, Thomas Rawls, Kareem Hunt, Jeremy Hill, and James Conner
I couldn’t believe some of the players I got at RB. After I went QB heavy I then went WR, TE, WR with my next three picks and didn’t get Ingram until the sixth round. I really like Ingram’s potential in PPR formats this year. Considering Willie Snead is now suspended for the first few games I like Ingram’s upside even more to start the year. Mike Gillislee and Thomas Rawls were my next two RB’s taken. I like Gillislee’s touchdown potential, but the Patriots haven’t been glowing about him by any means as camp came to a close. Alas, it could all be smoke & mirrors if he comes out and scores three times this coming Thursday night.
I couldn’t believe Kareem Hunt was my fourth running back taken. In a 10-team season long league Saturday night I took Hunt in the 4th round and I got him at an extreme value here. It’s almost like the FFE computers haven’t bumped Hunt up so if you’re drafting this weekend he’s a great mid-round value. I finished up my RB group by taking Jeremy Hill and James Conner. Once Hill comes back from injury he could be in line for some touches if the Bengals struggle to get the running game going with Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard. I took James Conner as a dart throw. He was one of those “GPP” picks that I mentioned earlier. If Le’Veon Bell gets hurt then Conner is the guy. So I may get no use out of him at all, but there’s always the possibility of Bell getting hurt. It’s how he’s ended his last three seasons.
Wide Receivers
Dez Bryant, DeAndre Hopkins, Keenan Allen, Stefon Diggs, Cooper Kupp
Absolutely LOVE this group. I got guys who should see a large amount of targets in their respected offenses. Hopkins and Allen could be bounce back candidates this year and Dez will always provide some big games. His schedule sucks to start the year (he faces the Giants at home and then the Broncos and Cardinals each on the road) so it’s a difficult start to begin the year, but it opens up from there. I’m also very high on Diggs and Kupp as picks in the later rounds. Diggs should see a lot of targets and is a PPR gem in Minnesota. I like Kupp to be a great value in an offense that could surprise some people this year. Absolutely jacked up over my WR group.
Tight Ends
Rob Gronkowski, Austin Seferian-Jenkins
I’ve mentioned before that I like ASJ this year. The Jets have virtually no weapons on offense. ASJ is healthy and sober and seems very comfortable and happy away from Tampa now. Somebody needs to get targets for the Jets. Sure Robbie Anderson and Jermaine Kearse will get their share, but I expect a nice year from ASJ. He’s really the only player I like this from the Jets. I also took Gronk with my 4th round pick. He’s pretty damn good at football in case you didn’t know. Just need the guy to stay healthy.
Defense/Special Teams
Jacksonville, Atlanta
I’ve started taking a liking to the Jags more and more. They’ve invested so much on defense and they could be a surprise value to fantasy owners. As you all know, I really like Atlanta this year. The pass rush is severely underrated and if Desmond Trufant stays healthy he’s a shutdown CB.
Kickers
I went out and grabbed two guys that I think can be reliable kickers. What I like about Myers is that the Jags should be able to move the ball, I’m just not convinced they can score in the red zone. They do have Leonard Fournette now so maybe I’m wrong. The same can be applied to Hauschka. I like his upside with long-range kicks and believe the Bills will struggle in the red zone too.
As always Fantasy Alarm offers a wide range of unique sites to play on. If you need to be refreshed on the rules and scoring for FFE check out the Introductory piece. Jon Impemba and Nick Berns offer up articles on Real Time Fantasy Sports and the H2H Salary Cap Games respectively. Fantasy Alarm is also excited to announce that we have an exclusive contest specifically for members of the FA Nation! So make sure you get your team drafted and lineup set before the season begins. Happy Drafting!